SOLVING THE PUZZLE
Chris Drury’s offseason is almost all about the centers, now. The Rangers’ general manager not only is sifting through Mika Zibanejad contract extension talks amid concurrent discussions with the Sabres regarding Jack Eichel, but he is also pondering Ryan Strome’s place in the organization and the wisdom of indirectly swapping him out for impending free agent Phillip Danault.
When the market opens at noon on Wednesday, the Blueshirts won’t be aiming for luxury items. Rather, they will be targeting need. And if Drury believes the need for a shutdown center who is strong at the dots is paramount among all concerns, then he could get into the bidding for the 28-year-old pivot who played an outsized role in Montreal’s run to the Stanley Cup finals.
Strome, who has been instrumental in aiding and abetting Artemi Panarin’s exceptional work on Broadway for the past two seasons, has drawn a fair amount of interest around the league. His expiring contract worth a $4.5 million cap hit works well for any club seeking a second-line dispatcher.
It would seem to work well for the Rangers, but if there is a chance the team could still acquire Eichel to stack with Zibanejad down the middle for this season (and, because of cap issues, this season only), then Strome does not work as a third-line center.
Danault, though, would. He would work brilliantly in that spot, presumably flanked on one side by Barclay Goodrow and on the other by the ubiquitous PTBNL (player to be named later). But the price would have to be right, and the expected $5.5 million-plus it may take to get his name on the dotted line seems excessive for a center who generates very little offense.
And if the Rangers do not get Eichel and they deal Strome anyway, it would take a leap of faith to envision Danault — who recorded 24 points (5-19) in 53 games last season — as a second-line guy, even with his solid career work of 53.1 percent at the dots.
Then again, the one-time Blackhawks first-rounder did record 100 points (25-75) in 152 games over the previous two years for a .66 points-per-game clip while Strome posted 141 points (50-91) in 189 games on Broadway the past three years for a .746 PPG rate. Maybe this becomes a horses-for-courses decision for Drury.
With the Golden Knights one of the teams interested in Strome, the Rangers might consider exchanging the center for winger Reilly Smith, who is on an expiring contract for a $5 million cap hit and was a favorite of coach
Gerard Gallant in Vegas. Jonathan Marchessault could be an alternative, but he has two years remaining on his deal at $5 million per.
The additions of Goodrow and Sammy Blais (acquired in the deal for Pavel Buchnevich, who on Tuesday signed a four-year deal with St. Louis at $5.8 million per) have bolstered the bottom six, but the hunt for big-bodied physicality is ongoing.
To that end, the Rangers are likely to target:
Nick Ritchie, W: The prospect of adding the 25-year-old marauding winger out of Boston, who comes close to playing literal smashmouth hockey, should have the Blueshirts’ hierarchy salivating. Imagine the prospect of a third line featuring Ritchie, Danault and Goodrow? There is the matter of cost, of course — if it escalates much beyond $3 million, can the Rangers support that going forward? There is the matter of clearing lineup space for him, but then again, that’s what Ritchie does, correct? Clear space?
Patrik Nemeth, D: This one is all but done. The Rangers are on track to announce a three-year deal for a cap hit of $2.5 million per soon after the opening bell rings. Nemeth is a 29-year-old, 6-foot-3, 212-pound, nofrills defender who is projected to pair with fellow Swede Nils Lundkvist on the third tandem.
Jujhar Khaira, C: The Rangers have long fancied this 26-year-old, 6-4, 212-pound center who was not qualified by the Oilers, but the club seems to be set in the middle of the fourth line with Kevin Rooney. Still, a possibility.
Martin Jones, G: The Blueshirts are seeking to trade Alex Georgiev,
whose $2.425 million cap hit is a bit pricey for a backup and who has asked the team to send him somewhere where he might compete for the No. 1 job — though apparently there has been no “official” trade demand. With that in mind, the Rangers could jump on the 31-year-old Jones, bought out by the Sharks after three straight miserable seasons, and turn him over to the Wizard, Benoit Allaire, for a makeover.